Chocolate Party Benefit

The MSU Museum's twenty-first annual Chocolate Party Benefit: Chocolate torte, cheesecake, truffles, fountains and other elegant edibles will be the tastiest ticket in town at this event, set for 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, and presented by the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing.

The MSU Museum Chocolate Party Benefit is one of the few professional culinary events in the country open to the general public, with area chefs and culinary students competing to create inspired, edible masterpieces featuring the key ingredient: chocolate. Competitors have sculpted everything from carousels, film reels, pyramids and gardens out of all forms of chocolate. Meanwhile, local restaurants, caterers, bakeshops, candy makers, and other vendors also share their taste-tempting chocolate creations. This year's theme is drawn from an upcoming MSU Museum exhibit "MASK: Secrets and Revelations" to inspire chefs for their elaborate and imaginative chocolate creations. http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Upcoming/mask.html

In this popular mid-winter event, foodies and museum friends alike indulge for a worthy cause: the Chocolate Party benefits care and preservation of the extensive cultural and natural science collections of the MSU Museum. The MSU Museum stewards nearly 1 million objects, artifacts and specimens, which are housed in four buildings across the MSU campus -- many dating back to the museum's founding more than 150 years ago. Recently, Chocolate Party proceeds have helped with the purchase of items such as protective cabinets and preservation equipment.

Tickets are $30 for the general public and $25 for MSU Museum members in advance, and $35 at the door. (The Kellogg Center is located on Harrison Road on Michigan State University's campus.) A special "Premier Chocolatier" ticket for $75 offers an advance preview of Chocolate Party creations and a year-long MSU Museum membership.